Jerry Beck

Jerry Beck (born February 9, 1955 in New York City) is an Americananimationhistorian, author, blogger, and video producer. The author or editor of several books on classic American animation and classic character, including The 50 Greatest Cartoons (1994), The Animated Movie Guide (2005), Not Just Cartoons: Nicktoons! (2007), The Flintstones: The Official Guide to the Cartoon Classic (2011), The Hanna-Barbera Treasury: Rare Art Mementos from your Favorite Cartoon Classics (2007), The Spongebob Squarepants Experience: A Deep Dive into the World of Bikini Bottom (2013), Pink Panther: The Ultimate Guide (2005), and Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons (with Will Friedwald, 1989). He is also an authority on the making of modern films, with his books detailing the art of Peabody and Sherman, Dreamworks' Madagascar, and Bee Movie. Beck is also an entertainment industry consultant for TV and home entertainment productions and releases related to classic cartoons and operates the blog "Cartoon Research." He appears frequently as a documentary subject and audio commentator on releases of A&E's Cartoons Go To War as well as DVD collections of Looney Tunes, Popeye the Sailor, and Woody Woodpecker cartoons, on which he serves a consultant and curator.[1]

In 2006 Beck created and produced an animated pilot for Frederator Studios and Nickelodeon. That cartoon, Hornswiggle, aired on Nicktoons Network in 2008 as part of the "Random Cartoons" series. Currently he is teaching animation history at Woodbury University in Burbank, California.

In 2004, Beck and fellow animation historian and writer Amid Amidi co-founded another blog, Cartoon Brew,[2] which focused primarily on current animation productions and news. Beck sold his co-ownership in Cartoon Brew in February 2013 and started an Indiewire blog, Animation Scoop, for reports on current animation while continuing to write about classic animation at Cartoon Research.[3]